Every course has goals and outcomes to be achieved that may be more readily achievable if the faculty member has a realistic understanding of the students from the beginning. The first class may be the best time to start this process or possibly a follow-up during the first class on initial information collected through a survey or quiz administered prior to the first class through a Learning Management System such as Blackboard. Some assessment areas include perception and myths that students have of the course; true understanding of prerequisite material; experience in working on teams or other group activities; communication skills; research capability; ability of students to participate in assessment activities planned for the future; and their major discipline. This video clip illustrates:
* How to anonymously collect course perception or other sensitive information
* How to collect data quickly and efficiently
* That it can be difficult to interpret assessment data
* How the information about the students’ backgrounds may be used to determine how to best facilitate learning in the class
* That background assessment and assessment of student potential can provide the possibility to realistically set expectations and reduce disappointment on the part of the faculty member.
Assessment may be used in an informal manner without the students being aware of its being done. The assessment approach on the first day will be driven by such factors as level of the students, the mix of students in class, the prior experience of the faculty member with the students (Lorraine Donegan of the video has a class of students from her relatively small department with whom she had a significant amount of prior experience.), the prior experience of faculty with the course, the level of difficulty of the class, and the combination of categories to be assessed.
Post time: Jun-18-2017